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within 6 months of graduation. There’s never been a better time to consider Hope College.

As a member of the MIAA and NCAA Division III associations, Hope College sponsors
22 varsity sports for men and women. The college is home to the 2014 NCAA Division
III National Championship women’s volleyball team.

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Program History

From the first engineering class in 1979 to ABET accreditation in 2000, Hope’s engineering
department has had an interesting history.

1979: First Engineering class offered

Engineering courses have been offered at Hope College since 1979. Initial offerings
were instituted by the Department of Physics in response to academic interests of
students who were majoring in physics but whose career goals were in engineering.
At that time, two faculty members, with interests and training in engineering, began
offering a limited number of courses in basic mechanical and electrical engineering
topics. During the decade of the 1980s, these courses included Solid Mechanics, Electronics,
Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Material Science and Vibrations. This curriculum
was designed and intended to prepare students for graduate study in engineering.

Another option for engineering students was the Hope College Engineering 3-2 Program,
in which students combined three years of study at Hope College with two years at
a traditional engineering school. Upon successful completion of this program, students
received a Bachelor of Science degree from Hope College and a Bachelor of Engineering
degree from the engineering school.

1989: A major in Engineering Physics offered

During the mid to late 1980s, the Department of Physics recognized that the current
engineering offerings were not providing enough depth of coverage to ensure student
success in graduate engineering studies. For this reason, a Bachelor of Science degree
with a major in Engineering Physics was established in 1989. The objective of this
degree program was to improve the preparation of physics students for continuing on
in engineering graduate school. In order to meet the requirements of this new major,
the curriculum was modified to offer engineering courses on an alternate year basis.
This arrangement allowed efficient use of the existing engineering faculty to provide
students with a course pattern which more closely resembled that of a traditional
four-year engineering school.

As a result of these improvements to the engineering curriculum, the popularity of
the 3-2 Program diminished as a majority of engineering students decided to remain
at Hope College for four years to pursue a major in Engineering Physics. Most of these
students continued their studies in engineering graduate school, although a fair number
of students began pursuing employment in industry directly from Hope College.

1992: Lab courses were added to better prepare students for engineering graduate school

In order to provide the students with an introductory engineering laboratory experience
in strength of materials, mechanical testing laboratory equipment was purchased. A
laboratory component to the solid mechanics and materials courses was added in 1992.

1994: Number of engineering faculty doubled to four

In 1994, the engineering faculty increased to four members through the addition of
two new hires. This growth was partially supported by a grant from the Fund for the
Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE, administered by the Department of
Education), which was granted to the college to develop a model for engineering programs
at liberal arts colleges. The educational objectives of this expansion were to implement
a capstone engineering design experience, provide core engineering classes on an every-year
basis, and to increase the number of engineering topics courses offered. These objectives
were successfully achieved with the implementation of several changes, including:

The development of a two-course capstone sequence in engineering design (ENGS 451,
452)

The switch of core engineering classes (ENGS 345, 346) from alternate year to every
year basis

From 1994 to 1997, as part of the FIPSE-sponsored study of the Engineering Program,
a number of external reviewers from both small and large engineering colleges served
as external advisors to the Engineering Program. Reviewers completed campus visits
in order to assess the Engineering Program. Based partly on the largely positive reviews
of the Engineering Program, the department requested permission from the administration
of Hope College to pursue an accredited engineering degree. The motivation for pursuing
accreditation was to further improve the quality of engineering education at Hope
College by formally implementing a system of continuous improvement via both internal
and external review and assessment.

The Administration of Hope College approved the pursuit of an accredited engineering
program in 1997, and the department established a new degree designation: the Bachelor
of Science with a Major in Engineering. This new engineering major was designed and
intended to fulfill the degree requirements as specified by the ABET 2000 criteria.

It was decided to retain the less rigorous engineering degree (which is not accredited
and for which no accreditation is sought) the Bachelor of Science with a major in
Engineering Science. This degree provides engineering education for students who have
other interests, such as a second major in another degree program, that preclude their
ability to complete the engineering major requirements within their time at Hope College.

Also in 1997, a fifth engineering faculty member was hired to continue building ties
with local industry, to increase offerings in engineering topics courses (heat transfer
and a thermofluids laboratory) and to provide necessary support for implementing assessment
and outcomes instruments as required by ABET 2000 criteria. In 1998, the Hope College
Curriculum Committee officially approved the new engineering major, and the Department
of Physics changed its name to the Department of Physics and Engineering.

2000: Hope Engineering degree received ABET accredidation

The engineering program completed and submitted a self-study and underwent an accreditation
visit and review during the fall 1999 semester. In 2000, the Bachelor of Science with
a major in Engineering was accredited by the Engineering Commission of ABET (111 Market
Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012; telephone: (410) 347-7700).

As more faculty were hired and a wider ranger of courses were offered, the engineering
department started to work toward forming their own department. In 2006, engineering
and physics offically split, with Dr. John Krupczak serving as the first chair of
the Department of Engineering. This added visibility likely contributed to the steady
rise in majors over the next several years.

2016: Largest senior class ever

In the fall of 2012, Hope College enrolled its largest ever freshmen class, which
corresponded to a large increase in the number of engineering majors. The growth of
interest in engineering allowed the department to increase the number of faculty,
and to offer more emphasis options to give students more career choices.